UPDATE 4pm: DARWIN residents are being warned about tidal surges and some have been evacuated at Cyclone Carlos hits the city.

Residents have been told to prepare for a huge tidal surge late this afternoon, with dozens of homes already damaged by the category 1 storm.

Several homes are already inundated amid widespread power blackouts, while trees have been ripped out of the ground by the wild weather.

At last report 9000 homes were without power, schools were shut, and authorities warned of a "massive tide" late this afternoon.

Continuous rain continues to pelt the city as coastal residents were told to prepare their evacuation plans.

Residents in low-lying coastal areas of Darwin have been warned their homes could be inundated by water as Tropical Cyclone Carlos continues to track north over the Northern Territory coast.

A cyclone warning is now current for coastal areas from Daly River Mouth to Goulburn Island, including Darwin, Croker Island and the Tiwi Islands.

Some residents in the Darwin suburb of Rapid Creek were evacuated last night, as swollen creeks damaged roads and caused power outages.

“This high tide, accompanied by possible storm surge, could result in the inundation of low-lying coastal areas such as Rapid Creek, Nightcliff and surrounding suburbs, an Northern Territory Emergency Service (NTES) spokeswoman said today.

“Members of the Northern Territory Police Force will be door-knocking this area to advise residents of the high tides over the next 24 to 36 hours.''

Much of the water that flooded roads on Tuesday subsided overnight, but the waterfront suburbs was littered with large trees wrenched from the sodden ground.

Long queues of people waited to get petrol and refill their gas bottles, ignoring calls from authorities to stay off the roads.

Others have stripped supermarkets of basic supplies.

Welfare shelters, which are not suitable to use as cyclone shelters, have been opened across the region for people forced to evacuate their homes due to fallen trees and storm surge activity.

A handful of homeless people, commonly referred to in the Territory as “long-grassers'', were escorted by police to a pavilion at the Darwin Showgrounds.